Thousands march in funeral of man killed after attack on settlement

Jan. 30, 2016 1:44 P.M. (Updated: Jan. 30, 2016 5:57 P.M.)

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Beit Ur al-Tahta village took part in a funeral on Saturday for a Palestinian killed while carrying out an attack in an illegal Israeli settlement.

The funeral set off from the family home of 23-year-old Ibrahim Osama Youssef Allan, whose body was wrapped in the Palestinian flag and carried on the shoulders of mourners to a village square for funeral prayers. His body was then carried to the village’s cemetery for burial.

Allan was shot by an Israeli security guard after two Israeli women were stabbed in the illegal Beit Horon settlement on Monday, one of whom died from critical injuries shortly after.

He carried out the attack alongside 17-year-old Hussein Muhammad Abu Ghush who was buried in the Qalandiya refugee camp on Friday. Locals told Ma’an that the parents of Abu Ghush took part in Allan’s funeral.

Residents of Beit Ur al-Tahta said that Allan was much-loved by the community, referring to the young man as “a friend to everyone in the village” who always attended village social gatherings.

Other roads were also closed throughout the week in the Ramallah district. The mayor of Ramallah, Ras Karqar Bahjat Samhan, told Ma’an on Thursday that the closures affected some 45,000 Palestinians from 20 villages and neighborhoods.

Allan and Abu Ghush are among more than 160 Palestinians to be killed by Israeli military forces or settlers since the occupied Palestinian territory was shaken by a wave of unrest that began in October and continued through January.

The majority of Palestinians were killed during attempted or actual attacks that have left over 20 Israelis dead during the same time period, while several others were shot dead during clashes with the Israeli military.